Save American Solar Jobs

The U.S. Department of Commerce announced a review of sourcing for solar panel component parts imported from Southeast Asia in response to a complaint filed by a small solar company in California – threatening to impose tariffs of up to 250%, disrupting the entire market and overturning more than a decade of established trade policy. The Commerce Department’s actions froze the solar industry in place, stifling solar energy projects across the U.S. and putting more than 230,000 American solar jobs at risk. Almost immediately, new component part orders were cancelled, utilities moved to extend the service of coal-fired power plants to accommodate the expected drop in solar energy production, installation orders were canceled or delayed and companies prepared layoffs. Seven Letter was engaged by some of the leading solar industry trade associations and clean energy companies to rapidly stand-up an advocacy coalition, Save American Solar Jobs, to pressure the Commerce Department to dismiss its inquiry.  We quickly launched an all-hands-on-deck public affairs campaign that leveraged a messaging research poll to inform strategy, a coalition website to drive digital activations, paid broadcast, print, newsletter and digital advertising, social media, partner and stakeholder engagement and opposition research. Our efforts led the Biden Administration to announce on June 6, 2022 that no tariffs would be implemented for 24 months and that the Defense Production Act would be deployed to rapidly expand domestic solar manufacturing.

Within ten days of being engaged, Seven Letter had created and launched the new coalition,  including a new website and social media channels – and our Seven Letter Insight team fielded our messaging research poll to prepare the key leaders with the best messages to win this public policy narrative. 

The data from our opinion research was used to develop memorable, pointed digital ads that highlighted several key themes: First, that Commerce Department Secretary Gina Raimondo had the legal authority and the responsibility to dismiss the action. Second, that the Commerce Department’s action would prevent the President from meeting his promises to cut carbon pollution in half by 2030 and to move rapidly to a 100% clean economy by 2050. And, third, that this action imperiled 230,000 American solar jobs by shutting down solar expansion and deployment. 

The ad campaign drove emails to key officials within the Department of Commerce and the White House. Using Seven Letter Labs’ proprietary targeting strategies, we identified 30 key decision makers within the Biden Administration to target, ensuring these important leaders and the circles of influence around them were seeing the ad campaign and were hearing about it from friends, colleagues and the public. The campaign also leveraged support for ending the Commerce Department action, helping to generate and promote letters from nearly 20 governors, more than 100 members of Congress, dozens of clean energy and solar leaders, major environmental groups. We also helped organize direct patch through calls to the White House and Commerce Department and engaged social media influencers to drive their followers to send emails and sign petitions.Seven Letter measured the digital campaign efficacy on a daily basis and changed copy and tactics to match developments in the process. We managed a paid campaign budget of more than $2 million for digital ads, online mobilization, influencer activation, and grassroots deliverables, including email and phone advocacy programs.

In a stunning victory for solar workers and companies, on June 6, 2022, President Biden announced that no new solar tariffs would be imposed for 24 months, even as the Department of Commerce continues its inquiry, and that the Biden Administration would invoke the Defense Production Act to generate more domestic solar manufacturing – creating jobs and market certainty for solar energy – one of the most affordable sources of electricity in our energy mix.

The Save American Solar Jobs campaign activated 23,462 individuals to take action through calls and emails to Commerce/White House offices. The ads themselves generated over 61 million impressions and 82,989 clicks to the campaign website, and the video ads were viewed nearly 11 million times. Our polling research was used to coordinate messaging across coalition partners and with other groups focused on clean energy deployment.